Retractable washer in cabinet



March 3, 1953 F. BRECKENRIDGE 2,630,000

RETRACTABLE WASHER IN CABINET Filed Oct. 19, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l zj' i. I 7

Invenfo r Frank Breckenr'zd e March 3, 1953 F. BRECKENRIDGE 2,630,000

RETRACTABLE WASHER IN CABINET Filed Oct. 19, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fnvenzoa E am/z Brecirezzr-zd e March 3, 1953 F. BRECKENRIDGE RETRACTABLE WASHER IN CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 19, 1948 Patented Mar. 3, 1953 RETRACTABLE WASHER IN Frank Breckenridge, Newton, Iowa. Application-ct0ber 19, 1948 S.erialINo.-55,3I71

3 Glaiinsr 1 This invention relatesto a. retractable; washing tub of the wringer type which is adapted.

tube-normally housed. in a cabinet and which isadaptedtobe elevated. when it is desiredto use the. same. and constitutes. an improvement onmy. co-pendin'g application Serial No. 737363;.

filedMarchZ'l, 19.4.7, now. issued as .Patent Number 2,481,193-under1. date. of. September 6,1949.

The patent referred to above andtheinstant application, as. well, relate.v to a. washing machine. having a cabinet within. which is mounted a Washing mechanism including. a tub and. The mechanism is arranged to move. vertically in the cabinet to place. the wringer. in an exposed position above the..cabinet when.

wringer.

it is; desiredtduse the washer and to. placethe wringer within the cabinet in a concealed. posi-.

tion when the washer istobeleft idle. A. cover on top. of .the cabinet canthen be. used to convert itito, a compact attractive. unit when not in use and whichalso has available. a fiat-topped.

surface 1 as a work. space.

Also, by. lowering the washing mechanism in the cabinet, the center of gravity of the machineis alsolowered so that itmay; be moved: about with little likelihoodthatit will tipiover as can readily happen with a conventional washing machine having a 1 heavy wringer. fixed in an elevated.- position.

. The. present invention. is. particularly, con-- cerned-with. the structure for, raising andloweringthewashing and. wringing mechanism-in. the

cabinet; for retaining the mechanism in its ,upper and lower positions; for guiding. the mechanism during its raising and-lowering movements; and: for connecting acontrol member onthe cabinet.

with aclutch-mechanism for the washing machine so that raising and lowering, movements.

of the washing mechanism can be had without eifecting the connection of the member. and clutch.

A: particular object of this inventionis. taprovide sustaining mechanism for the. tub in, its elevatedposition which is responsive to the. load in the tub for locking thesustaining mechanism from being operated to release the tub when thesame is under a predetermined load.

Itis a further object of. this invention toprovide a clutch control for the. agitator of thetub which remains unaffected during theilowering or raising, of the tub and to provide. an improved and more balanced guide roller construction for the tub.

With these and other objects in. viewJ-which, wilrbecome more apparent in the following description and; disclosure, thisinvention comprises thenovel structure-- and combination! of? parts" hereinafter describedand more particu larly pointed out-* and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanyingdrawing;which-illustrates a preferred formofthis'invention and in whichsimilar 0 reference numerals refertmSimilan features in the: difierent views:

tub ,withparts inelevation illustratingrthisdin vention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation-withparts in sectionr looking: in; the direction of the 3 arrows Z-Z inw F 1 Fig.1 3 is a topplanview-of-the =-apparatuswith the cover removed;

Fig, 4-.is a fragmentarysectional view of the clutch' operating mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary K elevational view withparts in' section showing; the latchingmechanismin unlatched-positiom and Fig, 6 is a fragmentary elevational view-show ing the latching mechanism in latching position.

In referring gno wjto the drawing, there is-shown a closed cabinet I which is substantially square-- and; adaptedi for; being closed. at itstop by aremovable cover: A cylindrical wash-tub-9-"is;- supported in i the cabinet for elevation when use and for lowering' whennot inuse, Upper: brackets. I 0- are" secured to the periphery .ofj the tub. and. lower brackets" II are secured to-fthe periphery. 'of 1 the tub; in vertical alignment" withthe; brackets, l0. Rollers. l2- are journalled in: these brackets" and these rollers; travel in: channel. guide" tracks. [3? secured upon theinsideof the casing'wall: It will be noted from Figure 3thatbecause of. the position .of the. drivemotor; 5.6 and-the gear train extendingtothe. wringer and the wringer-itself; thecenter. of gravity of the. tub whenempty is located to. one side of; the. axis, of the tub. To prevent binding and to. .allow. for smoother, operation. when the tub.

Fig; 1; is'a sectional view-through :a -ca'binet' and sustaining the tub in elevated position. A part of this means is responsive to the load in the tub and coacts with certain other parts for looking the sustaining means against operation under load. One form of the tub sustaining means is shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6 and will now be set forth.

In Fig. 1, it will be observed that levers [9 are pivoted adjacent the sides of the cabinet upon pivots 26. The lower ends of the levers l9 are connected by links 2! and 22 to opposite ends of a double crank 23 secured to a foot pedal shaft 24 journalled on brackets 25 upon the bottom of the cabinet and having operating pedal 25a. The links extend through the levers l9 and are yieldingly confined by nuts 25 on their outer ends and springs 2! bearing against the inner sides of the levers. When the crank 23 is rocked in an anti-clockwise direction, there will be a tendency to swing the levers is to their inoperative positions to allow the tub to be lowcred. However, when the crank 23 is rocked in clockwise direction, the levers it will yieldingly be'urged to load sustaining position. A'

spring 25b (Fig. 3) urges shaft 24 in clockwise direction and the pedal 25a is employed for turning the shaft anti-clockwise.

Inreferring now to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be noted that the upper ends of the levers I9 have inwardly ofiset heads iSa which terminate in upwardly extending lugs I 91) which might be termed locking lugs. Upon the brackets ii on the tub 7 there are secured upright spring bars 28 provided with spring half-loops 35. Upon the lower ends of the bars ll there are secured metal strips or fingers 29 which extend below the strips i i and which are slightly offset at their lower ends towardthe adjacent walls of the cabinet as indicated at 23a. The fingers 29 are located between the spring bars 28 and. the brackets Ii and cooperatewith the lugs [32) to form a lock. The

curved spring is designed to flex at a predetermined load.

The spring 39 is assembled with a predetermined loading so that when the lever is is swun thereunderas shown in Fig. 5 with the locking lug l9b under the curved spring, the lower surface of the curved spring and the lower end of the finger will be in substantial alignment when the tub is emptyi 'However, when the tub is loaded, the curved spring 39 will be depressed untilthe finger '28 is lowered into engagement with the top of the lever head and behind the locking lug [Sb as shown in Fig. 6. In this position, which is the loaded position of the tub, the

levers I3 are locked against tub releasing movement. It will be understood that the yielding spring and locking mechanism are the same upon both sides of the tub. It might be here mentioned that when the tub is unloaded and released by the levers l3, it can be lowered into the cabinet and locked in lowered position against the tension of the springs I! by engaging the offset heads i9a of the levers is over the tops I la of the brackets II which are designed for such a purpose.

A novel clutch controlling mechanism has been provided that allows the tub to be raised and lowered without effecting the connection of the clutch with a control member on the cabinet. This mechanism is best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In referring to Fig. 2, it will be observed that a clutch shifter wheel 3| is mounted outside of the cabinet to rotate freely upon a stud 32 which is rigidly secured in a slot 34 in an outwardly offset portion 33 of the cabinet but which can be adjusted in the slot. This ofiset provides suitable clearance for the wheel. The cabinet may be formed with a suitable bead 35 around the periphery of the shifter wheel 3|. The shifter wheel 3| has its central portion inwardly offset as indicated at 36 to receive a name plate 31 which is secured to a mounting plate 38 supported by the stud 32. A bracket 39 which is welded or secured to the inwardly offset portion 36 of the wheel 3| carries a wrist pin stud 40 which is adapted to travel in an arcuate slot 41 in the wall of the cabinet. The wrist pin 40 extends within the cabinet and through a long slot 42 (Fig. l) in an upright lever 43 which is pivoted at its lower end upon a pivot stud 44 mounted on the tub. The lever 43 is in the form of a bell crank lever having a right angled arm 43a at its lower end. The arm 43a of the shifter lever 43 is pivotally connected to a link 45 which in turn is pivotally connected to a lever 46 rigidly connected to the agitator clutch operatingshaft 41.

The clutch operating shaft 41 may be suitably connected to a rod 48 (Fig. 4) slidably mounted in a bearing 49 in which the agitator shaft 50 is journalled with the rod 48 carrying a clutch shifter fork 5| which may engage or disengage gear 52 on agitator shaft with a clutch pin 53 on such shaft.

. to be driven by a motor 56 suitably geared to the agitator drive gear 52 as is well known in the art.

The motor 56 is arranged to drive through a drive unit having a housing 66 of which the above-mentioned bearing 49 forms a part. The housing also extends beyond the limits of the tub 9 and supports the wringer column 6| within which there is a rotatable shaft in the conventional manner driven by the motor 56 through driving means contained within the housing 60.

The wringer column 6! is adapted for supporting a wringer at its upper end in a substantially conventional manner, as, for example, is illustrated in connection with the above-identified Breckenridge Patent No. 2,481,193. As explained previously, and also as set forth in the said Breckenridge patent, vertical movement of the washing mechanism will either place the wringer above the top of the cabinet or carry it down inside the cabinet.

I am aware that many changes may be made and various details of construction may be modified Without departing from the principles of this invention so I do not propose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a washing machine, a cabinet, a washing mechanism in said cabinet comprising a tub, a wringer and means carried with the tub for supporting the wringer, said washing mechanism being yieldingly supported in said cabinet for vertical movement therein, the improvement consisting of a pair or" vertically extending track members, said track members having a concave roller-contacting surface, said track members.

being mounted on said cabinet and arranged di ametrically opposite each other at the sides of,

by said tub is guided during its vertical move-..-.

motto ment within the cabinet, the weight of said wringer causing the center of gravity of the tub to be ofiset from the geometrical center of the tub, said tracks and roller means being in a vertical plane passing through said center of gravity, said roller means comprising a pair of vertically spaced rollers on each side of the tub.

2. In a Washing machine, a cabinet, a washing mechanism in said cabinet comprising a tub, a wringer and means carried with the tub for supporting the wringer, said washing mechanism being yieldingly supported in said cabinet for vertical movement therein, the improvement consisting of a pair of vertically extending track members, said track members having a concave roller-contacting surface, said track members being mounted on said cabinet and arranged diametrically opposite each other at the side of said tub and roller means mounted on said tub for engaging and rolling along said tracks, whereby said tub is guided during its vertical movement within the cabinet, the weight of said wringer causing the center of gravity of the tub to be ofiset from the geometrical center of the tub, said tracks and roller means being in a vertical plane passing through said center of gravity, said roller means comprising a pair of vertically spaced rollers on each side of the tub, and said rollers being shaped to fit said tracks so as to provide lateral support for said tub.

3. In a washing machine, a cabinet, a washing mechanism in said cabinet comprising a tub, a wringer and means carried with the tub for supporting the wringer, said washing mechanism being yieldingly supported in said cabinet for vertical movement therein, the improvement consisting of a pair of vertically extending track members, said track members having a rollercontacting surface, said track members being through said center of gravity and there being resilient means acting vertically upwardly on the tub in the region of said plane.

FRANK BRECKENRIDGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 381,188 Tripp Apr. 17, 1888 1,098,570 Grosjean June 2, 1914 1,354,973 Hicks Oct. 5, 1920 1,583,887 Kilbourn May 11, 1926 1,599,603 Westlake Sept. 14, 1926 1,713,863 Bertani May 21, 1929 1,851,855 Lindenmann Mar. 29, 1932 2,071,930 Hunter Feb. 23, 1937 2,202,158 Lidseen May 28, 1940 2,229,270 Altdorfer Jan. 21, 1941 2,230,059 Hurley et al Jan. 28, 1941 2,334,780 Lundy Nov. 23, 1943 2,481,193 Breckenridge Sept. 6, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 143,857 Austria June 15, 1935 

